Meta-owned messaging platform WhatsApp blocked 18.05 lakh Indian accounts between March 1 and March 31 based on the reports received from users through the grievances channel through its own mechanism to prevent and detect violations, according to a monthly report published by WhatsApp on Sunday.

The data shared highlights the number of Indian accounts banned by WhatsApp between 1 March, 2022-31 March 2022 using the ‘abuse detection approach’, which also includes action taken in furtherance to negative feedback received from users via our “Report” feature, the report said.

The abuse detection operates at three stages of an account’s lifestyle: at registration, during messaging, and in response to negative feedback, which we receive in the form of user reports and blocks. A team of analysts augments these systems to evaluate edge cases and help improve our effectiveness over time, the report added, explaining its abuse detection approach.

WhatsApp published the report in compliance with Rule 4(1)(d) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (IT Rules, 2021)— India’s new IT rules which came into effect last year. They require all digital platforms with more than 50 lakh user to publish compliance reports every month mentioning the details of complaints received and action taken.